Breece Hall Summer Scouting Report

Next up on our summer scouting series War Room Scouting heads to Ames, Iowa to look at Iowa State running back Breece Hall.

Background

Breece Hall is a player that exemplifies that inward growth off the field is sometimes more important than what is done on the field.

Growing up in Wichita, Kansas, Hall would find himself playing football at his local high school Wichita Northwest. There coaches quickly noticed his god given ability as he had the potential to be an immediate contributor. However, what held Hall back from being a varsity contributor in both his freshman and sophomore seasons is him not valuing the intangibles that it took to be a lead player. Wichita Northwest head coach Steve Martin stated “To be honest with you, from a talent standpoint, Breece should have been the starting running back as a sophomore. He just wasn’t doing the intangible stuff” (Hines, 2020, Des Moines Register). After his sophomore season Hall would acknowledge the growth that he needed to adopt from an intangible aspect and would never look back.

After refining his intangibles off the field Hall would finally be promoted to varsity football his junior season and made sure to make the most of it. In Hall’s first varsity season he would run for over 2,200 yards and would build upon that his senior year with another 2,000 yard campaign.

Hall’s late ascendance would first be noticed by Iowa State with his first offer coming from head coach Matt Campbell as he began propel himself into a prominent national high school prospect. According to 247 Sports Recruiting Rankings Hall was graded as a 4 star prospect, the second best ranked player in the state of Kansas and a top 25 running back in the 2019 class.

When it came time to a decision Hall would commit to the Iowa State Cyclones as they were the first team to notice his full ability late in his high school career. Hall will look to build upon the recent tradition of Iowa State running backs carrying their careers in the NFL such as David Montgomery (2019, Chicago Bears), and Kene Nwangwu (2021, Minnesota Vikings).

Entering the 2019 season Hall would carry on the responsibility of replacing current Chicago Bears running back David Montgomery as a true freshman. Hall would accept the task head on and slowly progressed as the Cyclones lead back throughout the month of September. It wouldn’t be until the months of October and November where Hall showed his true potential as he would register 100+ yard performances against West Virginia (132), Texas Tech (183), Oklahoma (110), and Texas (101). In 7 total starts but participation in all 12 games Hall’s gradual but meaningful contribution to the Cyclones offense would end his freshman season with 842 yards on 169 attempts averaging 5.0 yards a carry and 9 touchdowns. Hall’s performance on the ground helped assist in a 7-6 record and a spot at the 2019 Camping World Bowl against Notre Dame. However, Hall and Iowa State would struggle to get in any rhythm on offense and would lose by a score of 33-9 to end the season. For Hall’s true freshman campaign he was awarded consensus Second Team All Big -12 honors.

Going into the 2020 season Hall made sure that his growth as a running back will be heard. Despite an early setback upset to begin the season against the University of Louisiana, Hall would be one of the premier offensive players in all of college football. Starting in 11 of 12 games Hall would be the focal point of the Cyclones offense rushing for 1,572 yards on 279 attempts averaging 5.6 yards per carry and 21 touchdowns. Hall’s performance in 2020 made him the leading rusher in all of college football and would help guide Iowa State to a 9-3 record where they would face the University of Oregon in the 2021 PlayStation Fiesta Bowl. Hall’s presence would also show up in the bowl game as he would help guide Iowa State to a 34-14 win to end the season. Accolades were not hard to find for Hall after the season as he would find himself 6th in the Heisman Trophy balloting, runner up for the Doak Walker Award (Nation’s best running back), Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year, and would receive unanimous All American honors (the first in Iowa State history).

Entering the 2021 season Hall will look to build upon a historic 2020 season as he and the Iowa State program continue to ascend in college football.

Positives

Patience as a runner

The first trait that is a consistent part of Hall’s game is his overall patience and tempo as a runner. Primarily a pistol zone run scheme Hall displays a good understanding of how to time his runs in unison with his offensive lineman on both outside and inside zone reps. In outside zone run sets Hall utilizes a slow but patient buildup to let his blockers hit their landmarks on second level defenders in the open field. Once Hall sees his blocks materialize, he exhibits quick short area burst to stick his foot in the ground and accelerate downhill past second level defenders such as linebackers and cornerbacks. Hall’s composure to reign himself back to let his offensive lineman thrive in their role to block downhill makes most of his production in 2020 to be on outside zone run concepts. Similar traits can be said when Hall participates in run sets between the tackles, more specifically in the A and B gap. Hall’s short area burst and overall feel for the positioning of his lineman gives him an advantage in short yardage situations. As running lanes become more condensed and confined Hall showed he can find exploits in the opposing defense with his patient running style.

Versatile running style

While Hall displays the overall patience needed at the running back position it’s what Hall does at the second level that makes him a hard running back to defend. At the second level Hall shows a diverse skill set to elude open field defenders in a variety of ways. In situations where Hall can get the best of a defender with agility, he shows an effective ability to anticipate and elude oncoming defenders with short but energetic lateral cuts or a potent spin move. If an element of power needs to be utilized in each run Hall also can work through contact due to the contact balance he displays in his lower half. Hall’s ability to synergize agility and power behind his runs at the second level makes his running style diverse and hard to decipher as each of his runs carry a story of their own.

Scheme flexibility

With Hall’s consistency operating in a heavy zone run scheme he also has the flexibility and the necessary traits at the position to play in other run systems. Due to the experience Hall has faced as the primary running back for the Cyclones the past two seasons plus the patience and variation he has as a runner, flexibility in run schemes is very possible for Hall. Whether it’s a spread option run scheme or a downhill power scheme Hall’s ability as a runner makes him a malleable player from an offensive coordinator’s perspective.

Negatives

Lacking home run speed

While Hall does possess the short area burst and downhill acceleration to consistently penetrate the second level of defenses, what he lacks is the long speed to finish runs in the end zone. Throughout the 2020 season Hall found himself in situations where he was afforded a clear runway to the end zone after breaking away from the second level but would be chased down by recovering defenders (reference Oklahoma State). Hall’s lack of long speed does limit the potential of long and impactful touchdown runs that will be seen in his play.

Pass catching / receiving utilization

As good of a runner Hall is in the Iowa State offense his usage in the Cyclones’ passing attack has a lot left to be desired at this current moment. In passing situations Hall’s route tree coming out of the backfield is very scarce often resorting to simple flat routes that causes little concern for defenses. Because of the meager route tree Hall is afforded in the offense he saw little production as a pass catcher in 2020. While Hall does have the upside to be a stable pass catcher out of the backfield it has not been seen on a consistent basis. Heading into the 2021 season it will be interesting to see if any changes or development will be taken to maximize Hall’s pass catching ability.

Games Watched

Oklahoma (Game #1, 2020), Oklahoma State (2020), Oregon (2020)

Scheme Fit

Ideal for a zone run scheme but also has the flexibility to play in a variety of schemes because of his natural traits as a ball carrier. Currently can be a 2 down back in a system due to the volume he can carry as a runner with the upside to be a 3 down runner if his pass catching ability can be maximized.

Grade

2.1 (Player that falls in between numbers 33 - 44).

Final Summary

Breece Hall is a running back that provides the foundational traits many look for as an ideal 2 down running back. Hall’s innate patience and variation as a runner to synergize both agility and power in order to elude defenders paired with the volume he can handle as a ball carrier makes him a running back flexible for any desired run scheme. While Hall does have the functional traits to carry over in today’s NFL, he will need to be a more proficient weapon in the passing game to make himself a 3 down back. If Iowa State can make Hall a regular occurrence in their passing game, he has the potential of becoming more of a complete 3 down back heading into the NFL.